23 replies to this topic

[Hertta]

The idea for this topic spawned from a bit similar topic at Ubuntuforums.

Can one be "too old" to start programming? What kind of issues does aging cause, if any? What would be the critical age to "get into" programming to understand it? What kind of programming? Is it game development, web designing, demoscene, application development?

IMO one can never be too old to start programming, however, I believe that age comes with problems. Mathematical understanding and ease of learning might be at it's prime during sub 30's, I guess.

I am not too creative today. Someone continue. ;)

[Mattias Gustavsson]

age have no bearing on the matter whatsoever

[v71]

Yes, age is important, basically if you are older than 25 you will have big troubles grasping new concepts.
At that age, memory starts to fail ,and retaining new concepts gets more and more harder.
Programming is a difficult task, i wouldn't advice anyone older than 25 to start with it, if you are old like that you should start thinking another computer activity, most people are happy playing console games and don't worry about programming.

[starstutter]

v71 said:

Yes, age is important, basically if you are older than 25 you will have big troubles grasping new concepts.
At that age, memory starts to fail ,and retaining new concepts gets more and more harder.

oookkk.... not real sure where you're getting that info... Tell that to the thee 40 year olds in my java class learning the material very quickly.

To the OP, no I would say its never too late. If you're asking about starting a career in programming, then yes, I would agree that it's a little late for that. Picking it up as a hobby however should be no problem provided you're willing to dedicate your time to it. Speaking of which, I think the main issue with age is that learning to program takes a lot of dedication and a LOT of time. As you get older you have more to think about and less time to fill with hobbies and independant learning. If you have enough freetime however, it shouldn't be a problem.

As a side note, you should also know that while its probably too late to do it professionally, it's certainly not impossible to make money off your creations if they're good enough quality. Yay for internet shopping!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and in case anyone was thinking about the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks"... well that statement is totally n/a here. For one, 25 isn't anywhere near "old", and two, the phrase means you can't pull someone out of their longtime habbits, not that they can't learn new material.

[SamuraiCrow]

@Hertta

I think the earlier start you get on coding, the deeper you can get into it before you finally expire at a ripe old age.

[rouncer]

StarStutters right, late bloomers are welcome.

Youll learn just as quick as a young one will.

Of course a lot of us here started programming before we were 10, and I
also started my art skill at around this age too, starting young is good, but im
quite sure an older man could learn just as well.

[Reedbeta]

Starting something at a later age can be a bit daunting, though. I know for myself, I'm trying to learn to compose music (at which I'm a complete newbie), and it's just kind of a motivational sink to think about how many years of practice it's going to take to get good at it. I didn't have that kind of problem when I was a kid learning to program, and I think it's because I just didn't know what I was getting myself into back then. I look at how much time I've spent programming next to the comparatively miniscule amount of time I've spent composing, and it just seems like a huge, unclimable mountain. I can imagine that someone else who's spent a lot of time developing expertise in some non-programming field could have the same kinds of feelings when starting to learn programming. So, starting later may be harder, not because of any alleged decline in intelligence or creativity, but because it's harder to persevere.

That may just be me, though

[v71]

My post was a provocation, obviously i think that age doesn't matter unless you are nearly 80.
Go for it , its never too late to learn something new.

[fireside]

Old or young, I think it depends on the person. Some people take to it and some people think it's Greek. I don't think I'll ever actually like c++ even though I've used it off and on. It's just a little too micro-managing for my type of personality.

[starstutter]

v71 said:

My post was a provocation, obviously i think that age doesn't matter unless you are nearly 80.
Go for it , its never too late to learn something new.

ah, ok lol. Sarcasm + internets, what a great thing.
:)

[Sol_HSA]

Age doesn't really matter, and picking up programming may be helpful in surprising ways.

My dad was a field engineer for a telecom on the good old days, doing Real Hardware Stuff, like cleaning up relays, fixing things by listening for abnormal sounds and stuff. Nowadays it's all virtual, so his work has turned into a "normal" office job. But I digress.

Back then the micros (zx spectrum, c64 etc) came into the market, he bought us some and also learned programming himself. Said he was surprised how much better he was able to do his job - which had nothing to do with programming - merely because his brains worked better.

[Mattias Gustavsson]

starstutter said:

ah, ok lol. Sarcasm + internets, what a great thing.
:)

It's what keeps me coming back here, that's for sure :yes:

[Hyper]

To the OP: I do not personally think age makes a difference. Look at how old you have to be, to become President. :)

I think the above posts about cover it all. I can agree with most.

[Hertta]

Does the same apply to get into the industry and make living out of it?

[Mattias Gustavsson]

To get into the games industry, it is not unusual to have to put up with certain things (massive overtime, poor job security, comparatively low wages, little creative input etc). I think young people are more likely to be able to do that, due to not having a family to support etc. But it's not really dependent on age - you could certainly do it regardless of age, if you're willing to make the sacrifice...

[rouncer]

You never know, you could be good at it and finish a game.

[bazso]

as far as the age thing is concerned i do see a good point about starting when your young but being older if you are able to under stand things very quickly then your set to go age really should have no bareing at all it is very heavily dependent on the person and if they are able to pick up and under stand what it is they are doing.

i am 28 years old but it took me this long to figural out i am hard core nerd i love being around the pc a hellish amount the pc is very exciting to me just wish i could under stand how a programing language could work and it would be a perfect match.

[Reedbeta]

28 years old and you still can't write in damn complete sentences... :wallbash:

[alphadog]

bazso said:

wish i could under stand how a programing language could work

It would seem one of your root problems in understanding both computer and English languages is the important purpose and proper use of statement delimiters.

[alphadog]

Hertta said:

Can one be "too old" to start programming? What kind of issues does aging cause, if any? What would be the critical age to "get into" programming to understand it? What kind of programming? Is it game development, web designing, demoscene, application development?

No. "Logistics" (if you have a family or other obligations) and physical (loss of hearing, etc) issues can get in the way. Given my answer to the first question, does not apply. Whatever gets you excited is the most important factor.

Having given direct answers to each question, let me add that I don't think I've ever seen a study that shows that the ability to learn mental tasks, like a new language, declines with age. What has happened in that early brain studies in the 70s on learning and plasticity, which is strong in younger people, was thought to be the only major factor in learning. Turns out this was wrong.

Physical capabilities may wane slightly, generally, but not mental. (There are exceptions, as dementia appears mostly in the elderly. But a healthy older person is as able to learn as well as a healthy young one.) In fact, older people have established low-level associations necessary for building higher-level ones common in software, have higher chances of having developed proper studying techniques, and have higher chances of having established self-motivation techniques.

If anything, learning a new language (computer or otherwise) is a good way to keep the mind limber!

(And, I would consider myself "close to middle" in age...)